Wednesday, April 11, 2007

A much needed change.

So you're probably heard already, but the Honor Code has been been officially changed. Well, not the Honor Code per say, but the paragraph that outlines BYU's specific stance on homosexuality as it relates to the Honor Code. See Drex's blog for a summary of what went down. Drex should just be our official scribe or something. I always think I'm going to have to write out a play-by-play of everything that happened at a particular event, but then when I finally get online Drex already has it written down, probably better than I could record it. This happened even before we really knew each other at all. Way to go, Drex.

The Baker's Son, who attended both meetings with us, also wrote about what happened in his blog.

I'm really pleased with this development. I'm surprised at how quickly the change was made. The intent here was to make sure that students at BYU can feel comfortable talking to bishops, friends, the counseling center, administration, etc. about homosexuality without feeling like it is some sort of Honor Code violation. The wording of the previous Honor Code clause was so ambiguous that one could essentially be in trouble with the honor code for anything that they did or said, as long as someone perceived it as homosexual in nature. Jan Scharman, and apparently the entire President's counsel at BYU, were very reasonable and understanding about the obvious problem with the old clause, and they quickly took action to change it. I hope this small step helps gay kids at BYU to feel just a little bit better about their own school, and about the church as a whole. There is still more that can be done at BYU, but the administration is very willing to help. We have more meetings with administration and faculty coming up to address some other issues at BYU. Stay tuned.

2 comments:

I could be okay with the title of Scribe. And I'm pretty sure despite your feeling of disconnect that we're all glad you're involved - you seemed to interact well with Jan, putting her at ease while simultaneously putting forth our opinions and sharing our concerns. It was a good balance that I certainly wasn't pulling off.